OneLittleThunder Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Hi, folks! I'm brand new to the game (as in, "I bought my first Malifaux miniatures last night") and am glad to find what seems to be an active and helpful community. I was drawn to the 10T early on by the look of the minis and the fluff. I was planning to start with a Misaki box, but one wasn't available, and I wanted to get started right away, so here's what I came home with (besides rules and cards): Yan Lo box (Yan Lo, Soul Porter, Chiaki, 3 Ashigaru) Izamu Yin (That's the stuff that met both the "Seems like it would work well with Yan Lo" and "Is in stock at the store" criteria.) I planned to approach Malifaux by building a list, playing a few games, tweaking it, playing a few more, etc. Then I noticed in the rules that you build your list every game based on the current objectives. < HEAD A SPLODE > So clearly, I'm going to want more figures to choose from as I get into the game. So with that said, are there any obvious additional Minions or Henchmen I should look to add to my collection? Toshiro the Daimyo seems like a good choice, and I like the look of the Komainu, but have no idea where those figures come from. Perhaps another Master that might work with some of the stuff I have? Kirai or Molly on the Resser side, maybe? Also, I noticed in the Big Rule Book that there are a number of "General Ten Thunders Upgrades" (Servant of 5 Dragons, Misdirection, etc.). These aren't in the 10 Thunders Arsenal Deck I got; are there physical cards available for these somewhere? Thanks in advance for any advice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 First things first: Welcome to Malifaux! You seemk to have a good grasp of the game. Trying Yan is a good way to learn the game. Toshiro is perfect as a Henchman for him. Komainu aren't released yet, so they are out, sadly. If you take Toshiro you can hire Punk Zombies in TT, so the Nicodem box might be an interesting buy. All other available TT Masters are good, too; whatever you can get: Misaki, Mei Feng and Jacob Lynch are great starting Masters. Note that there are 2 Arsenal Decks per faction, as the game was released in two Waves. If Misdirection is not included in your deck, chances are you have the Wave 2 one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleThunder Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Well, at least I haven't missed an obvious place to get Komainu then. Punk Zombies? Man...there are so many options in this game, I think a big part of the learning curve will have to be just figuring out what everything (or at least the key things) can do. One bite at a time... Note that there are 2 Arsenal Decks per faction, as the game was released in two Waves. If Misdirection is not included in your deck, chances are you have the Wave 2 one. Aha! For some reason, my brain equated "Wave 1" with "First Edition." I stand corrected - thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enderwiggin Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 I also started (M2E) with Yan Lo, it's been great so far (lots of losses, but a new game/gang). I grabbed Yin first, but my next planned purchases after a few games is Toshiro, Nurses, and some Punk zombies. I find running as a Resser much better for what I have so far in terms of upgrades with the scant points I seem to always have left. Recalled training is awesome, but I really value Unnerving Aura on Yin and Yan(g). Sceme runners fortunately are easy to come by on either side. Also, on Komainu, I don't think they are released as a model yet. My intended proxy was going to be Komainu from the Kensei line of minis. http://shop.zenitminiatures.es/product.php?id_product=199 Caveat: No clue on those guys scale though atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbobovalsocks Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Good find, those Komainu look cool. Lot's of good advice above, but you are being moved in the Resurectionists direction. If you really like Ten Thunders faction, perhaps Punk Zombies, Nurses etc. aren't the best buys for you as they are not Asian themed and can't be used with other TT masters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleThunder Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 I'm not averse to some Resurrectionist stuff; more flexibility is always good, and I appreciate the suggestions. I just need to see what works and not go too crazy right out of the gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 As I said, all the other 10T Master box sets are worth it. Great Minions in all of them. However, some of them are rare at the moment, so you can just take whatever box you get. Toshiro would just be my first pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hateful Darkblack Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Wow, you learn fast! It took me months to get to the point where you are! You should get some games in soon! You'll probably know more about what you want to add once you have practice and know what seems to be missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleThunder Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Hateful Darkblack, most of what I've "learned" so far is "Look at PullMyFinger and absorb the wisdom of those who've been playing long enough to know what they're doing." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonahmaul Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 As others have said, you seem to have a good grasp of the game. I used Bushido Shisa as my Komainu. The choices that you have made already are solid. For Ressers I'd recommend Belles, Nurses and Necropunks (the first two are available in the Seamus and McMourning boxes respectively so they might be worth a purchase (it's usually better to buy the crew boxes rather than buying the minions separately)) which will give you some good scheme runner options. For TT some TT Brothers and Katanaka Snipers are worth adding over what you have already. If you are interested in Misaki already then her box is worth buying for the Torakage and she gives the option of another Master. Welcome to Malifaux.....where you want all the options......! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_havoc Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Toshiro is definitely a great purchase. He works really well in most Ten Thunders or Ressurectionist crews as he boosts minions and can summon models with his upgrade aside from being pretty tough and hitting pretty well too. Personally I think Yan Lo operates better as a Ressurectionist IF you are playing with models themed to him. Yin and Izamu get a whole lot out of Unnerving Aura. That being said Recalled Training is a really good upgrade too. The thing that sells me on Ressurectionists is the fact that Toshiro can take Corpse Bloat in order to summon Ashigaru is big and Yan Lo can heal the damage he suffers from it too. Though when Komainu do come out playing Toshiro with Mei Feng would be a good combo because her totem can drop Scrap Markers. All that aside Yan Lo is a great master and very good at supporting his crew with Heals and dishing out Armour. He can also be effective with and without the upgrades designed particularily for him which is nice when you are picking your crew. Lynch or Misaki are good crews to get as the minions you get in their boxes are useable quite broadly in Ten Thunders. Nicodem is a good master to get in Ressurectionists as the models you get compliment Yan Lo quite well and vice versa. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adran Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Welcome Firstly, what you have purchased will let you build a reasonable list in either the Ressurectionist or the Ten Thunder faction. It won't be optimised to your mission, so expect to lose more than you win with it, but you will probably get a good grasp of what your models do, and what they don't do. As you can see from the above suggestions, just swiching faction and using different upgrades on the same models can make it play quite differently. You might need to look at the big rule book or Crossroads for the general upgardes in either faction (General upgrades from the Big book are in Wave 1 arsenal packs, Cross roads in Wave 2. If you want to use the ressurectionist general upgrades, physical cards will be in a ressurectionist arsenal deck, and so forth) Whilst the Mantra of " Find out what you are doing, and then build a list to achieve it " is common here, and is true, you can tweak a small model pool a surprising amount thanks to upgrades. And learning the game with a small model pool is much easier. (i'm not saying "don't go out there and buy every possible thing that looks cool and might work", but just that it isn't certainly needed. Learn what you have, decide what faction you want to expand in, work out what areas in that faction you are weak in (may change on a game by game basis) , and then buy models that will plug those holes) (And then in time you will buy everything anyway) Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Adding the Kirai Box to your collection will be helpful as Yan Lo can also Hire the Onryo who make pretty good all round minions with him. Also in regards of Komainu Wyrd haven't released them yet however Bushio do some very nice models in their range which will serve as fine proxies in the meantime. http://www.bushido-thegame.com/catalog/shisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Hateful Darkblack, most of what I've "learned" so far is "Look at PullMyFinger and absorb the wisdom of those who've been playing long enough to know what they're doing." Actually, that's the best place to start if you don't have a play group already. If any of your questions aren't answered by the wiki, don't hesitate to ask here. Also, have you looked at "The Breach" , the Malifaux app? There's the official crew builder inside, as well as a Strategy randomizer, which makes gaming much easier, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleThunder Posted January 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 I do have the app, and it looks pretty handy - thanks! As for proxies, it sounds like no one really has a problem with those, at least as long as there aren't any official models available for the character in question. Is that a fair statement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 I do have the app, and it looks pretty handy - thanks! As for proxies, it sounds like no one really has a problem with those, at least as long as there aren't any official models available for the character in question. Is that a fair statement? Usually correct. Although it can go too far, in my eyes. If you proxy all the models, and it's not clear which model is which, it can be quite distracting. There is a guy in our play group who is usually quite the forthcoming and nice guy, but he proxies half his crew although he has the models and is just slow to assemble them, and it's somewhat annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomjoad Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 I do have the app, and it looks pretty handy - thanks! The app is great, but keep in mind that it isn't perfect. It lists the samurai upgrades as costing 1ss, and it doesn't have the updated wording on the Outflank scheme at the least (these are the two that I've been bit by, anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLittleThunder Posted January 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 Ahh, good to know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 I play 10T Yan Lo. I have a whole bunch of other 10T models.........however, I've never used them with him. When I play Yan Lo I play with the things you own, plus Toshiro and Komainu. That's it. I haven't seen the need to use anything else yet. Punk Zombies and Onryo are neat if you want to play with them, but they aren't necessary. I also don't understand when people say he works so much better as a Rezzer........I do very well with him with just those few things.....unless maybe they're talking about upgrades but on the 10T side you can throw Recalled Training in there. There's also a master specific upgrade that allows Yan Lo to push a friend - and to push himself at the end of every turn (I forget the name) but it works really well with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeregrineFalcon Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 I think Yan Lo works quite well in both factions. Honestly, it comes down to aesthetics at this point. Pick what you like. The biggest thing I can recommend for you either way you decide to play him out of the gate is to try and figure out what minions you want to take to flesh out your crew. His box has Ashigarus who are great for hold a location and with Toshiro can be very nice. This is important for two reasons: Completing objectives Activation control, typically Yan Lo's crew can be a little bit expensive and in 10T things are usually costed a little bit extra. Some to consider are: 10T Brothers (10T only) Necropunks (Rezzer only) As far as beat sticks you have Izamu and adding something like a Hanged (for Rezzers) or a Dawn Serpent (10T) is a good thing to have for mitigating things that have a lot of healing (Hanged) or things that have a lot of Ca actions (Dawn Serpent). With Spirit Ascendant upgrade on Yan Lo he can get near a bunch of spirits (requires you adding spirit characteristic to Dawn Serpent) and do is (2) Fury of Yomi to have them all take a (1) Action. So as you have shown you understand how amazing Yin is and Chiaki is just an almost auto-include with Yan Lo. Izamu is great but situational at times in certain matchups (still worth everyone of his points). Ashigaru, 10T, and Necropunks give you options for doing objectives, and then Hanged and Dawn Serpent give you options for having an extra killy minion. This was mentioned already but Punk Zombies are great too, you can get their 3 model box set if you don't want to buy a whole Nicodem box set. Good luck and welcome to Malifaux, only those who know how to twist fate survive the first few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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